How to beat MU

[tower912]

1.   Run the 3 pt shooters off of the line. 
2.   Attack the basket relentlessly. 

Do those two things and your team will beat MU.   

MU's offense is so geared toward raining 3's.    Take that away because MU does not have a team that finishes at the rim.   

MU's defense (looked better last night) simply is not consistent enough to stop a team with size intent on attacking the basket. 

[wadesworld]

Sure.  But you can say the same thing about every team in America.

How do you beat Kentucky?  Force them to take the 3 and make drive the paint.

How do you beat UCLA?  Make Ball a high volume shooter and attack any part of their defense.

How do you beat Arizona?  Pack it in and drive and dish.

Etc. Etc.  Easier said than done.

[Galway Eagle]

Based on the way that JJJ finished last year, the drives cheatham had last year and the offense Luke has shown you'd think we'd have a "b" game plan oriented around those three

[GGGG]

JJJ only drives with his right.  Not hard to defense at this level.

[4everwarriors]

How many playas can beat der man off the dribble? Too slow, so just stick a hand in der mug, ai na?

[TVDirector]

3. Show up.

[GoldenDieners32]

No one drives to the basket on our team

[RJax55]

JJJ only drives with his right.  Not hard to defense at this level.

And, Cheatham is the complete opposite. Only goes left. Both are easy to defend.

[RJax55]

No one drives to the basket on our team

Duane Wilson is the best driver on the team. But, he's the 8th guy in a 9 man rotation.

[GoldenDieners32]

Wojo should try switching up the line up try starting maybe KR, Rowsey and Duane

[GoldenDieners32]

And, Cheatham is the complete opposite. Only goes left. Both are easy to defend.

Our players need to really work hard this off season

[KampusFoods]

No one drives to the basket on our team

Markus drives plenty. Just gets blocked 95% of the time.

[muwarrior69]

No one drives to the basket on our team

Will Jamil Cain solve that?

[GoldenDieners32]

Will Jamil Cain solve that?

Maybe, he reminds me of a better JJJ

[vogue65]

Remember the wedge in football?
Set up with four guys toe to toe, arms outstretched,  create a shooting pocket, then the shooter rains down 3's.
We ran the double screen last night at the end, we do that all the time, our end game gambet,  why not a tripple screen or the MU wedge?

[brewcity77]

No one drives to the basket on our team

Actually, it seems like everyone drives to the basket on our team.

The problem is both JJ and Cheatham are severely one-handed. Markus and Rowsey drive okay, but need the bigs drawn away or screened to be effective. Duane is probably our best driver, but as noted, doesn't play a ton. I'd think that should improve next year with more beef down low and the development of those guys, along with Cain.

How much could we use a Chris Otule on this team? Someone who can box out, set brutal screens, and defend the post. Luke is a better offensive player for sure, but there were many attributes to CO's game that this team really lacks.

[GoldenDieners32]

Actually, it seems like everyone drives to the basket on our team.

The problem is both JJ and Cheatham are severely one-handed. Markus and Rowsey drive okay, but need the bigs drawn away or screened to be effective. Duane is probably our best driver, but as noted, doesn't play a ton. I'd think that should improve next year with more beef down low and the development of those guys, along with Cain.

How much could we use a Chris Otule on this team? Someone who can box out, set brutal screens, and defend the post. Luke is a better offensive player for sure, but there were many attributes to CO's game that this team really lacks.

Haanif in the off season needs to work on that right hand desperately

[Big Papi]

Butler's defensive game plan and execution was fantastic last night.  You watch the game, look at the box score and roster from last night's game and they are not bigger, stronger or quicker than us yet they were able to execute and shut down our offense.  Meanwhile we are incapable of playing one half of average defense, let alone an entire game.  Wojo needs to get an assistant with a defensive mentality for next year or we are going to have the same problems.

[brewcity77]

From 6:35 until the end of the game, we held Butler to 10 points on 13 possessions. The problem wasn't the defense, it was answering stops with made shots.

[Big Papi]

Game slowed down at the end and yet we couldn't stop Chrabascz from scoring 3 layups and some free throws.

When in this game did we get the stops we needed when we made our runs?  We didn't.  That is on the defense. 

And it was Butler's defense that took away our offense game plan.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

From 6:35 until the end of the game, we held Butler to 10 points on 13 possessions. The problem wasn't the defense, it was answering stops with made shots.

Yep. Just didn't make our shots last night. No ball movement on offense. Only shots we made last 5 minutes were Markus two threes, one when it was over, and his uncontested layup. Would have been nice to get Rowsey out there IMO, even though they were in his pocket all night.

[brewcity77]

Game slowed down at the end and yet we couldn't stop Chrabascz from scoring 3 layups and some free throws.

When in this game did we get the stops we needed when we made our runs?  We didn't.  That is on the defense. 

And it was Butler's defense that took away our offense game plan.

I...just...told you? Before we started fouling, down the stretch, we held Butler to 4 points on 7 possessions. I forgot the Chrabascz layup that came in the final minute.

6:17 Butler Turnover
5:26 Butler missed three, MU rebound
4:44 Chrabascz layup
4:07 Chrabascz layup
3:09 Butler Turnover (offensive board extended possession, but 0 points)
2:39 Butler Turnover
2:17 Butler missed three, MU rebound

The problem was the offense. In that same time, we made two baskets, scored 5 points, and turned it over 3 times.

[skianth16]

Butler definitely had a good defensive game plan, but about mid-way through the second half a lot of our guys just lost all their common sense. KR taking shots 5 ft behind the line, Rowsey jacking 3's 6 seconds into the shot clock, Cheatham passing up open looks (still!), and way too many bad passes leading to turnovers. Oh, and let's not forget a complete lack of urgency with less than 30 seconds to play.

In general, decision making was as bad last night as it's been all season. This team seems to lack discipline in basics too often, which is more than a little bit concerning this far into the season.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Game slowed down at the end and yet we couldn't stop Chrabascz from scoring 3 layups and some free throws.

When in this game did we get the stops we needed when we made our runs?  We didn't.  That is on the defense. 

And it was Butler's defense that took away our offense game plan.

For our standards, we played fantastic defense last night. Our offense didn't play up to our standards. Expecting our defense to play any better is hopeless, the problem last night was our offense.

[brandx]

1.   Run the 3 pt shooters off of the line. 
2.   Attack the basket relentlessly. 

I think smart teams would gladly give up 15-20 pts a game to Fish to close out on the three point shooters.